View Full Version : Reducing plastic in food packaging.
One of my big bugbears is plastic food packaging, especially the big bubble packs that meat products come in. I know it's there to protect the products and make them last longer but most are still for presentation primarily and minimal packaging second. I'm lucky enough to have a butcher counter at my local supermarket and get a lot of my meat there. It's usually reduced too, because not a lot of people use it ;)
Anyway, the point in question. I still end up with a load of plastic bags if I use the butcher or deli which go straight in the bin, how do I reduce this to a minimum?
It's simple than I could have ever imagined...
...take my Tuppaware to the supermarket and get them to put it straight in them!
http://myzerowaste.com/2009/05/reduce-plastic-food-containers-and-packaging/
Duh! :p
Good idea. Also for your veg you can use Onya weigh bags (http://www.onyabags.co.uk/shop.php?crn=208) :)
Knipples
10-03-2010, 19:12
My office is in a kind of business park which has a really good mini recycling centre in the car park. I now take all the plastic from our household there to get recycled. Its amazing how much its cut down on the rubbish we throw away. I take at least two bags a week into work.
I just did a quick shop for some salad and realised when I got home that my half cucumber is wrapped in cellophane AND in a bag? WTF?
Psymonkee
11-03-2010, 00:36
Bugs the hell out of me at work. I can understand the chicken/beef/pork to a point as the packs do need to be sealed and leak proof (to save me doing too much cleaning :p).
Funny story though. Peppers used to be wrapped individually in cellophane. One customer was (rightly) annoyed at the waste going on. moths after whinging about it they started selling them loose.
The next day I served her she came to the till with 3 peppers wrapped in 3 separate plastic bags! (the ones sitting by the peppers, not her own....)
thats a really clever idea! we usually bring resusable bags to the shop to carry everything out in, but then again we use carrier bags to throw out our rubbish in.
I know some of the health food stores let you bring your own containers to purchase loose grain and fresh made peanut butter...seems like an easy way to make a difference!
Greenlizard0
14-03-2010, 20:29
Apparently reducing the amount of plastic and packaging used is the next "environmental" thing to be done by supermarkets. They're taking a leaf out of how American stores shelve e.g. milk etc.
Banning plastic shopping bags won't reduce plastic usage for a lot of us though. I re-use my shopping bags as bin bags (bonus being they are biodegradable) but if I couldn't use those bags I'd have to buy shopping bags and I'd have to buy bin bags as well. The shopping bags only have a finite life and then have to be disposed of. Big bugbear of mine.
However, I think a lot of people don't use shopping bags as binbags so the net is probably a gain.
most of the people I know recycle the plastic bags they get from supermarkets. We use them as binbags and dog pooperscoopy bags, so they get reused. It's pointless cutting down on the plastic bags which to a point people do need, and then covering fruit & veg that doesn't need covering up in plastic. It's all arse about tit if you ask me. For example, I think it's Asda & Tesco who were bragging about making their bags from x amount less plastic...however, you now need 3 to get anything home without it ripping, so it's just bollocks.
In fact, it's that much bollocks I've just complained to Tesco ;D
Go BD, Vigilante a go go!
Knipples
14-03-2010, 22:45
In fact, it's that much bollocks I've just complained to Tesco ;D
Go BD, Vigilante a go go!
I think it was Sainsburys who said their bags contained 33% less plastic, they also became 33% more useless where like you say you need about 3 to get anything home.
Just got a reply and they're going to send me £14 compensation for the bottle of vodka that got smashed when one of their stupid bags collapsed. Also got a nice long explanation about how the bags are made and how they are tested for strength.
Will post it up here later if I remember.
Tesco, ironically, as one of the biggest retailers are taking some of the largest steps to ensure their future business is ecologically sound. They are driving forward with lifecycle assessment (and carbon footprinting) of their products, unlike many of the other large retailers. They even worked on getting a carbon footprinting standard set (PAS 2050 if anyone is interested) so that all retailers can work in line with each other.
The only two others who I know of that are working that hard environmentally are Unilever and (potentially) M&S. M&S are making big claims in the press but I haven't seen any evidence of actual work going on. I do have an inherent lack of trust of M&S and I won't be believing their claims until I see some evidence.
Here it is :
I was sorry to hear that the carrier bags you used were faulty and that the bottle of Vodka you purchased broke as a result of this. I understand how disappointing and inconvenient this must have been for you, especially as you had to clear up the glass pieces, and I apologise for this.
I would like to assure you that, although we do strive to use less carrier bags, the ones we do use are tested to make sure they are strong enough for customers to carry their shopping home safely. These tests include checking the strength of the handles and the bottoms of the bags, and are normally sufficient to ensure they are adequate for the job. Unfortunately, it would appear that the bags you were using was not up to standard on this occasion, and I am very sorry this has happened.
It is possible that they were part of a faulty batch and I have reported this incident to the Duty Manager in store, so they can check their stock.
It is always disappointing when a customer is unhappy with any of our products and I will also pass the details of this complaint to our supplier for their information. If you could send me your address details I will be more than happy to send you a Tesco Moneycard.
I trust this will help to resolve the issue and thank you for taking the time to tell me about this and for giving me the chance to put things right.
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